God of War
by MyNameIsLegion4WeAreMany
Summary: Follow Commander Shepard Through the events of Mass Effect(1), shepley pairing- earthborn, ruthless/survivor, multiclass Shepard with a twist, come read this somewhat unique story of shep 'n crew, AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, this is not only my first fanfic, it is also my first story as well. SO :D like I said in the description this story will cover the entire first game and stick to the canon, however I will change a lot of the minor details. Also I will not put many side missions in this story so, if there are certain missions or side quests that you want me to cover in this story please send me a message with the name of the mission and I will put it(them) in. Shepard is going to be how I think he should in the game. To finish this note up I'm going to explain how the story will work. At the beginning of each page there will be a Character's name in bold, for instance Captain Anderson is bold on this page, which signifies whose perspective I am writing in so this chapter is through Anderson's eyes. That's all for now enjoy the first chapter.**

* * *

**Captain Anderson**

_Captain David Anderson,_

_You are to report to Arcturus Station on June 6__th__ at 0800 for a mission briefing. This is of the utmost importance, you will come on board the SSV Normandy we will have a docking bay cleared for you. Do not be late._

_-Admiral Steven Hackett_

I stood on the Bridge of the SSV Normandy SR-1, the best recon and infiltration ship the Alliance has to offer_._ It is 0700 and we have just arrived at Arcturus station. I've heard many stories, but none of them close to the actual thing. The scale of the station is absolutely remarkable. At the center there is a large sphere that is 3 miles in diameter with what seems to be the main control center, living quarters, the mess hall, and everything else a space station would need. On either side of the station are two large and very thick wings that go about 5 miles to the front and 2 miles behind the station.

As we approached the station my pilot went through the docking procedure. "Approach Control, this is the SSV Normandy requesting a vector and berth". "SSV Normandy you are clear to dock, Please route to docking bay 1 Alpha, we will have an escort waiting for your commanding officer". Joker turned off the com system and turned his head to me " talk about a Royal welcome huh?" he said in his usual laid back attitude. "Just land quickly" I replied not in the mood for jokes today, ever since I got that letter I've been stressing over this mission I'm to supposed to go on. I've been on many dangerous missions in my time but to be given a personal mission by Admiral Hackett of all people is a little nerve racking. We landed quickly and I exited the ship wearing my dress blues

my armed escort was waiting for me the second I left the airlock. One of the men walked forward and saluted me, I returned the salute and followed behind the two leaders with the other two following me. They brought me to a small interrogation room? The room was 6 feet wide and 8 feet long with a rectangular table in the center. I was instructed to sit I took the chair to the back left of the table and waited. Fifteen minutes passed by when 2 people and a turian walked in, I stood in recognition and was then instructed to sit again. Admiral Hackett took the chair across from me, the turian sat next to him, and Ambassador Donnell Udina sat next to me.

As soon as we were all seated Adm. Hackett spoke " We received reports from a colony of ours; the scientists on EdenPrime have uncovered what they believe to be some sort of Prothean Beacon." He paused and looked at me " Captain Anderson you are going to take the Normandy and retrieve this beacon. This could be humanities 2nd biggest discovery you cannot fail, also I have dossiers for 20 N7's you are going to choose one to lead this mission. He turned to the turian next to him "this is Nihlus he is a Spectre and has been sent to evaluate the N7 you choose to see if he or she is worthy to be the first human Spectre".

Normally I'd be angry about having to choose my replacement as a Spectre candidate, but I've accepted the fact that I won't be the first human Spectre. "Yes sir, are there any you would recommend?" I asked as I took the dossiers and started looking through them. " I will tell you which I would choose after you" Adm Hackett answered. I handed a few to Udina and a few to Nihlus and let them look through a few of them, we sat in slience looking through the dossiers for a while.

I finally finished my last one and not one of them stood out. "All of these people have a very narrow skill set, is there anyone isn't just a grunt, tech, or bitotic?" silence followed my question as everyone looked over their files when Nihlus spoke up "well what about Shepard? Earthborn. . . but no record of his family" he asked handing me the dossier I studied it closely and replied "He doesn't have one, he was raised on the streets learned to look after himself". Admiral Hackett leaned forward "Shepard huh? I've heard a bit about him, He got most of his unit killed on Torfan." he said grimly

"He gets the job done, no matter what the cost" I countered. "Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?" Udina asked. "Someone willing to make the hard choices for the greater good. . .- that's the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy." I looked to him, I finished with my mind made up "I pick Shepard" I looked to Adm. Hackett "I'll make the call, return to your ship Captain ill let you know when everything is arranged".

"Yes sir" I stood with a nod I left the room to find my escort waiting for me, they led me back to the Normandy nodding my farewell as I boarded. I immediately went to my quarters to prepare for our new guest and plan what I could for the mission.

**Well everyone thanks for reading, I am very bad at adding descriptions of the environment so im trying to get a little practice here, let me know what you think and how I can improve please and thank you :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey y'all, here's chapter 2 for ya. I'm going to try and write 1-2 chapters a day, :D sorry this is late I've written and re-written this like 20 times today I never know where to start, what to add, or when to end so yeah I hope ill slowly get better and be able to make the chapters run more smoothly, anyways I hope y'all enjoy and give me some positive/ negative feedback thanks!**

**Shepard**

I lay on my bed rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I glanced over to the clock on my wall. It is 0200, _just about time to go wake the recruits up. _Getting off

of my bed, I made my way towards the latrine to prepare for the day. As I was drying off after my shower I heard a knock on the latrine door "yes?" I called

out "Good morning, Just coming to let you know I'm awake" my roommate stated. "Morning Kat, I'll be out in just a minute so you can get in" I replied

"Okay, Thank you" she called back.. I finished drying out and made my way over to my closet, I grabbed a pair of basketball shorts, a plain black t- shirt, a

pair of nice dark blue jeans, and my brown military boots and quickly got dressed. As I finished putting my boots on I grabbed my side arm holsters and

strapped one to each thigh both containing a striker pistol. Having everything else ready I grabbed my rucksack from the back of the closet and carefully put

my gear inside, First my armor, my weapons, a canteen, a 6 inch knife, 100 ft. of rope, a first aid kit, an entrenching tool, my Parachute, and a few other

items required to meet regulation standards After packing everything and making sure I was all finished, I started to make my way to the living room to wait

for my roommate to finish getting ready when she called out "I'll be done in two minutes Shepard" I continued walking to the living room, and stood by the

door waiting for Kat to finish. After two minutes true to her word she came walking down the hallway "Alright I'm ready, let's go" she said walking past me

and heading out the door. I grabbed my sunglasses off of the shelf next to the door and followed Kat to the barracks. When we have recruits in the ICT

program, I share a two bedroom apartment with Three other instructors 1st LT. Hicks, 1st LT. Edwards, and LTC. Lee. 1st LT. Jason Hicks is a 5'8 African

American male from Mason Ohio and he works with LTC. Kristi Lee, a 5'5 Asian female from Beijing China. The two of them remain with the recruits during

Lights out, while 1st LT. Katherine Edwards a 5'8 white female from Sydney Australia and I train the recruits during the day. We enter the barracks and make

our way up the stairs to the Cadre's office on top deck, Edwards made her way to her locker dropping off her gear as I stood in the doorway watching Hicks

and Lee gather their belongings. They looked towards us nodding their acknowledgment of our presence "Everything run smoothly?" Kat asked. Hicks looked

at her as he answered"Yes, you guy tired them out pretty well yesterday". "34 assigned 34 present, everyone is doing well for now". Lee added. "The first

day is always the easiest, their bodies were fully rested and prepared, I'm expecting 8 to 10 to drop out by the end of the day." kat replied. They nodded in

agreement. "Ready to start the day LT?" I asked turning to look Kat in the eye. "I'm ready when you are" she replied smiling up at me. I turned around and

hit the light switch on the wall. As soon as the lights went on I heard the all too familiar grunts and groans of disapproval, and gave my first order of the day.

"Get up, let's go get on line you have 30 seconds" I said in an indoor voice. I made my way to the bottom deck to wake the females and repeat the process.

Following the last recruit up the stairs I stopped to watch everyone scurrying the deck trying to get on line in time. Once I saw everyone standing at attention

I walked to the middle of the deck and looked at my watch. I looked up "Ladies and Gentlemen, I said 30 seconds and it took you 47. That's alright, I

understand you are all very tired only having 4 hours of sleep so I'll overlook this for now. So first things first, how did everyone sleep?" "Good sir" They don't

get on line in time and now they don't want to sound off? Ha already off to a bad start."Bull shit I asked a question, If you can't sound off correctly were

going to have some real problems, now how did everyone sleep?" "GOOD SIR" "bull shit, how did you sleep?" "GOOD! SIR!" "Damn right you did now if you

don't keep your voices at that level we're going to PT. Are we clear?" "YES! SIR!" "Now, you're going to fix your racks, get your teeth brushed, faces washed,

PT gear on, and back on line with all of your gear in 15 minutes. Do you think you can handle that?" "YES! SIR!" " "Good, ladies went first yesterday so men

will hit the latrine first today, I will not remind you to get on line you'll have to keep track of time yourselves, but just know if even one person is late, I will

work you until you drop. If you have any questions you can ask Lt. Edwards or myself, Move". As they all rushed to their areas I made my way to the office.

As I sat at the desk Lt. Edwards came and sat on the corner facing me with a smile on her face "Interesting bunch this time huh?" "we'll get them squared

away soon enough" I replied "we always do" she added, standing up she winked at me and left to manage bottom deck. Shaking off a smile I looked down at

the recruit roster and started putting squads together. I let out a heavy sigh._ This is going to be a long day. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody sorry this is late but uh yeah I didn't think writing a story would be this difficult, especially one in first person. anyways I'm going to go over a few vocab words here so if you are familiar with military etiquette then you can skip this if not it would be best to just read over, so you'll understand the chapter better. First word/command**

**Commands, Most commands contain two commands within themselves. The first is the preparation command which means what it says It prepares the people its intended for, of the command/ next action they will take, and the Second command is the execution command/order instructing the intended party to execute the prepared command. So for the Command Right face, "Right" would be the preparatory command and "Face" would be the order of execution.**

**Attention- Standing at attention, Feet are touching at the heels and make a 45 degree angle in between the toes and arch. Knees are slightly bent, Hips Straight forward, shoulders are rolled back, chest is out, fingers are half curled with the tip of the thumb touching the first joint in your index finger, outside of the thumbs are on the seams of the persons pants, head is straight, and eyes are staring straight.**

**Next stationary movement commands- Right face, Left face, Half Right face, Half Left Face, and About Face. Right face-the person pivots on the right heel and uses the left toe to turn 90 degrees to the right, while standing in the same spot. Left face is the same thing, just turning 90 degrees to the left. Half left and Half Right are the same just turning 45 degrees in whichever direction is directed. About Face is a full 180 degree turn. The person given the order takes his left foot and puts it behind his right leg and puts the tops of his toes against the heel of his/her right foot and rotates. so he/she is standing in the same place, he/she is just facing the opposite direction they were in before the command. **

**The difference between "Aye, Aye Sir" and "Yes Sir"- Aye, Aye Sir" is used when the person is given an order, and "Yes Sir" is used when asked a question.**

**Command "Count Off"- "Count Off" is a two part command that is used to get a count on people present" in my story When Recruits are ordered to "count off" when the Commander says Count the recruits bend at the waist and touch their toes this allows the commander to see everyone that says their number. When he executes the command by saying "off" one by one the recruits snap to attention and say the number they are in the line so the first person stands up and says one, after he/she says her number the next person would snap to attention and say their number and so on.**

**Get "On Line"- Getting "on line" means to get in a line standing at attention at the end of your rack, and those who do not sleep on the deck they are lined up on stand in between 2 racks. on top deck there are racks on the left and right side of the deck, with 10 double racks(bunk beds but there are only 20 people on top deck all men) normally the commander has the people get on line so he can get everyone's undivided attention, making it easier to give commands. **

**This is a military story so I use military time/ also known as a 24 hour clock. all single digit numbers before noon such as 1am, 2am, 3am and so on are the same they just have a 0 in front so 1am is 0100, 2am is 0200, and 3am is 0300 and so on, 10am, 11am, and 12pm are the same, 1000, 1100, 1200. for every hour after 1200 you add 100 so 1pm would be 1300, 2pm = 1400, and 3pm= 1500 and so on until you hit 2400 which is midnight.**

**HQ= Head quarters- the place where they keep track of all the personnel and recruits and just about everything that happens on post( on base )**

**Tighten up- all this means is fix yourself, for instance if someone starts slouching when ordered to stand at attention the commanding officer would tell him to tighten up meaning get back to attention.**

**Cadence- A cadence is a song The Platoon Leader sings to keep the platoon in step. or when instructing a PT session. FOR INSTANCE- when the platoon is marching the leader will keep the pace by saying Left Right Left Right, instructing when each foot should hit the deck, most people switch things up and make different patterns. anyways heres another example, The platoon leader will start a song like "I used Drive a Cadillac" then the platoon would repeat it once. then the platoon leader would go to the next line in this case it repeats again so "I used to drive a Cadillac" and the platoon repeats, at the same time every word or indicated other wise would be one step so "LEFT"=I used "Right"= To Drive "Left" A Cad "Right" =Illac. well that's the best I can explain that. For PT The cadence for an exorcise would depend on the count of the exercise. so a 4 count exercise the cadence would be 1 2 3.**

**PT-Cadence and repetition- the cadence like I said up there^ would b and the repetition would be the number you are on meaning when the platoon Leader says the cadence you would add 1 s "1" 1 2 3 "2" 1 2 3 "3" 1 2 3 "4" and so on.**

**well I thinks that's about it for vocab if you have any questions feel free to pm me or ask in a review and ill get back to you with in two days, I hope you enjoy the chapter and stick around because chapter 3 or maybe 4 will be where the fun starts.**

**Shepard**

I'm currently standing in the middle of the deck watching the recruits scurrying around and gathering their gear, they have 1 minute left to get on line and there are only 3 ready and standing at attention.

After a few moments recruits start falling in line one after the other trying to rush and make last second adjustments. I look down at my watch times up. "Count" waiting for everybody to touch their toes, pausing for a moment to put emphasis on the execution of the command "OFF"

from my front right the first recruit stood up snapping to attention sounding off his number "ONE! SIR!" then the next recruit snapped to attention "TWO! SIR!" and continuing on down the line until they reached the last recruit

"TWENTY NINE! SIR!" I started to make my way to the end of the deck by the table while i spoke, looking up I saw the remaining recruits rushing past me to get on line "It seems not everyone made it to the line on time, why is that?" I asked looking at all of them. Then I turned my head to the first recruit to get online standing to my right.

He is a small man about 5' 9 weighing about 150 lbs with pale skin and very short red hair.

"Did I not give you enough time to get on line" I asked him "NO! SIR!" he answered not moving from his position except to sound off. "Then why were five recruits late?" I asked him. speak normally for now" I interjected nodding my head for him to continue

" Because they did not keep proper track of time sir" walking to the end of the line and facing the five recruits late to get on line

"Does that sound accurate to you?" I asked looking all of them in the face. They looked like they were about to piss their pants how half of these people got nominated for this program is a mystery to me

if I had to guess id have to say their parents are a somebody or they have a lot of money. "yes sir" the one on the far right she is tall for a woman 6' even, she has blonde hair tied up tight, bluish green eyes, and her skin is a hazel brown.

Stepping over so I was directly in front of her I commented "If you cannot do something as simple as keeping time I don't think you should remain in this program"

turning and making my way back over to the table at the other end of the deck "In this program you will learn to work efficiently as a team and by yourselves.

This was your first lesson, everyone could have been up here on time had someone announced the amount of time. If just one of you would have walked around warning everyone that you had two minutes until you had to be on line, everyone would have made it." "TEAM WORK people, the majority of this course depends on it."

"Now what do you think I should do about this?" I asked the red haired recruit again. He made a face of dread and answered solemnly

"PT us sir" "Agreed". "when I say move I want you all to move your packs directly in front of you and get back to attention". "Yes Sir" they answered obviously not very excited for what is to come.

"Now we're not going to sound off" I asked rhetorically following up with my command "READAYYY". . . "MOVE". as they all snapped back to attention I walked into the office and grabbed my ruck sack, to PT with them,

so they can see that I wont tell them to do anything I myself am not prepared or capable to do. Fastening the straps around my chest and stomach I walked back out by the table

"PACKS UP". . . "MOVE" they all picked their packs up and put them on without fastening their straps and hopped back to attention "Adjust" I waited for everyone to finish adjusting their straps and getting situated.

"RIGHT". . . "Face" they all moved as one turning 90 degrees to their right and waited for my next instructions. "We're going to do this quickly and quietly, I want a formation outside facing the barracks, you have 30 seconds. REDAY. . . MOVE"

they all filed out starting with the line on my left, walking in front of me and going down the stairs to their right, as they moved the line on my right followed the last man from the left line snaking around the barracks

, making my way out to follow LT. Edwards stepped out of the office with her gear on and turned to lock the office.

We made our way out to see everyone standing at attention, in formation as ordered. Looking at my watch yet again to see if they were on time. I moved in front of the formation so I was standing next to the guide on carrier.

"very good, Dress right. . . Dress" as I executed the command every recruit turned their head to the right and lifted their left arm up so they were parallel with the deck,

any recruits whose shoulders where not touching the man or woman's fingertips to their right moved so everyone was now an arm length apart. "ATTEN-SHUN" (attention* I wrote it like that so you could understand how he pronounces it)

"RIGHT. . . FACE" again they all pivoted on there heel and turned 90 degrees to their right so they were facing the same way the dirt road went.

"For-word. . . MARCH" starting with the left foot as always we marched, hands moving so the hand in front was 9 inches away from the body and the hand to the rear was 6 inches behind,

DI's normally say "9 to the front 6 to the rear" in their cadence when they first teach the trainees how to march, and the trainees would respond along the lines of "That's the way we do it here"

we marched about 50 ft until we hit a crossroad, we turned to the right towards the parade field, after about 2 minutes everyone was in step and marching well, so I thought I'd sing a couple cadences to relieve some tension

(p.s where I put hiphons are were each foot is hitting the deck so the starts on the left foot then prett would be right followed with iest on the left again and girl on the right so the next line can start on the left foot so The Prett-iest girl) "

"The Prett-iest- Girl" they repeated

"I- ever saw"

"was drinking Bur-bon"

"Through a straw"

"I picked her up"

"I laid her down"

"Her long black hair"

"Lay all ar-ound"

"and now I have"

"A mother in-law"

"and Four-teen kids"

"who call me pa"

"The mo-ral of"

"The story is clear"

"instead of bur-bon"

"Stick to Beer"

(after beer they end on the left foot so shep can call the cadence again after their next step, so they take the next right step and)

"Left, left, left, right left," I waited a few moments and on the next left I started another cadence

"One day I came"

"out my mom-ma's womb"

"I found my-self"

"in a deliv-ery room."

"All bloody and wet"

"I rappelled to the floor"

"I cut the cord"

"and shout, "MARINE CORPS".

"I knew right then"

"I was a baby Marine"

"The bad-est shit"

"you have ever seen."

"with Saf-tey pins"

"on my shoulders for rank"( on and my are said fast so almost one word onmy)

"A Hum-vee stroller"

"and a tricycle tank."

"I had camoflage diapers"

"and flak baby shoes"

"A butter-nut sword"

"and baby Dress Blues."

"So, I donned my Blues"

"and cruised through the ward"

"Saluting the nurs-es"

"with my butternut sword."

"and then I heard"

"all of these babies"

"cry-ing like heck"

"I kicked in the hatch"

"and yelled, "ATTENTION ON DECK"

"and then I said"

"Listen up babies"

"I'm in command"

"Crying and whimpering"

"I will not stand"

"They said Yes Sir"

"and I knew I had made it"

"As Commander in Chief"

"of the Baby Brigade."

By the time we finished we were in the middle of the parade field. "Platoon Halt" after the command everyone landed on their left foot, put their right

foot down next to it, then marched in place for two steps putting emphasis on their left foot. I made a right face so I was looking at them and they were facing to my left. "LEFT. . . FACE" I took two steps backwards

"OPEN RANKS. . . UNCOVER" the first squad took two steps forward, while second squad took one step forward, third squad stayed where they were and fourth squad took one step backwards".

"Extend to the left. . . MOVE" I watched as everyone put both arms out to their sides and spread out. "Even numbers to the right. . .MOVE" ranks two and four took one step to their right.

We started with simple warm-ups then moved on to some easy exercises. "The first exercise of the day will be Side Straddle Hops. Side Stradle Hops are a 4 count exercise. I will count the cadence, you will count the repetition.

We will be doing 50 of them. Starting positions . . . MOVE" "Ready. Begin" "ONE TWO THREE" "One" we ran through various exercises for about an hour,

finishing with flutterkicks so we were all on our backs. I got on my feet and stood at attention. "on my mark you will gather your gear and get back in formation understood?" "Yes Sir". "Ready Move"

it took a total of 57 seconds for everyone to be standing at attention and waiting for further instructions. "Alright, now I recall this morning, you were 17 seconds late getting on line, and failed to sound off properly.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe it is time you paid me back." As I spoke I could see people slouching or making faces._ They have got to be trying to make this worse on __purpose _

"What the hell? I don't recall telling anyone to stand at ease, Tighten up. In order to not make the same mistakes tomorrow we are going to correct them today, About. . . FACE" I walked around the formation so I could stand in front of them again.

"now you see that fence" I asked turning halfway and pointing to the Base's perimeter about 2 and a half miles away from us. "You are going to carry all of your gear and run, walk, 0r crawl, to the fence.

Once you make it there you will see a security guard, you will tell him you are there for Commander Shepard, and then you will come back. I don't care how long it takes you; just know that the first 5 people to make it back will be exempt from PT for the rest of the day."

" REDAY. . . MOVE" most of the recruits bolted as fast as they could while a few kept at a slow jog. "It would seem they do not want to PT with you Shepard" Lt Edwards joked as she walked over to me.

"I don't see why not, I'm fun to hang out with." Looking at her I asked teasingly "Right?" "Offff course Commander" she said with humorous sarcasm while tilting her head to the side a bit looking at me from the corner of her eyes.

" she started to say before being interrupted by a man running across the field towards yelling my name. "Yes?" I shouted back, he picked up the pace and stopped in front of us to salute, returning the salute I then asked "What can I do for you private?"

" he paused in between words catching his breath "You are needed at HQ ASAP" I looked at him then back to Edwards, she smiled before speaking " Go, ill take care of things"

"Thanks" as we ran to HQ I tried to figure out what they could need me for at 0330. Stopping outside the doors to compose myself from the 3 mile run,

I entered the building expecting many things; none of them involved me coming face to face with Admiral Hackett.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everybody here's another chapter for ya, this one is a little longer than my last few chapters. I know this isn't the greatest story ever but I literally type these up and post **

**them right away, no drafts, outlines, or any other type of planning. I'm a full time College student and I work 10 hours a day 6 days a week, so I don't have time to turn this into **

**a master piece. ANYWAYS :D This story is open for everyone's use so if I write something that interests you please feel free to take any of my ideas and use them as your own. I **

**hope you enjoy and I should have Chapter 5 up in the next day or two.**

**Shepard**

"Gather your belongings we leave in 30 minutes, I will wait here for you". "Yes Sir" I replied. I walked out of HQ and started running to my living quarters reflecting on the information I was just given by ADM. Hackett.

I'm supposed to travel on board the SSV Normandy SR-1 under Captain Anderson to Eden Prime and find weapons that were supposedly stolen from the Alliance.

I don't consider myself to be a genius, but im not so stupid to believe ADM. Hackett would travel all the way to Panama to pick a up simple ICT DI for a shakedown mission that a child could complete, there is obviously more to it than that, and I do not like being left in the dark.

Shaking off my mental breakdown of the situation I entered the living quarters and made my way to my room packing a few of my belongings, such as a few changes of clothes, my shower gear, three notebooks, and a package of pens. _I prefer to write rather than use datapads _

When I finished packing I quietly left so I wouldn't wake LT Hicks and LTC Lee locking the door behind me I made my way back to HQ. When I arrived ADM. Hackett walked out of HQ with four armed guards, he waved his hand motioning for me to come to his side.

Once I was at his side I heard the familiar hum of a shuttle descending sure enough a light blue shuttle landed 15 meters away. The doors opened for us and we quickly got in,

the escorts sat in their seats, Hackett stood in the middle of the shuttle leaning in to the cockpit to give the pilot a few orders before standing up straight again while I stood with my back against the door so I could see all of the shuttles occupants, call me paranoid but I don't like having people stand behind me.

The shuttle ride was exactly 15 minutes and 17 seconds long, we arrived on Hackett's Flag ship the SSV Prometheus, It doesn't look like much; just another Alliance carrier, although being Hackett's flagship I'm sure it has been extensively modified.

Hackett had insisted on giving my own room to stay in while we traveled to Arcturus station, I declined the journey would only take roughly 4 hours, no reason to get comfortable. Instead I took my leave and made my way to the mess hall.

As I walked through the doors to the mess I made my way to the table on the far left of the room and sat with my back facing the corner. It was a sizeable room;

aside from the 4 long tables and 96 chairs (24 on each table) the room was bare which was fine for me I've never been one to decorate, not that I've ever had the chance to anyways.

The trip went by rather quickly I spent the time reading **_"The War of the Worlds"-By H.G Wells_**. "Fifteen minutes until we come into dock" I made my way back to the bridge, I had my gear on my back and my personal items in a seabag in my left hand.

Standard military procedure, keep your right hand open in case you need to salute an officer. We docked and I followed Hackett and his Boy Scout escort to Docking Bay 1 Alpha where a man was waiting outside the hatch, he looked to be about 6' tall and he was wearing his dress blues noticing the Emblem on his shoulders understanding the obvious,

this is Captain Anderson.

Him and Hackett shook hands, and then the latter turned to me holding his left arm out to direct his statement "This is Commander Shepard" I stepped forward shaking his hand "Captain" I said nodding my head in greeting.

"Commander" he responded, none too pleased with my presence for some reason. "I leave you to it commander" Hackett said he nodded his head and left with his escort in tow.

"Let's get you situated on the Normandy, we will be leaving for Eden Prime shortly". "Aye, Aye sir" I replied. As he lead me to my quarters I took in the ships qualities, it was very well put together upon entering the airlock, the cockpit was to my left there was a man wearing an Alliance ball cap and a beard.

He looked young probably 23 or 24. Sitting next to him was another man about the same age, he was clean shaven and had black hair that was slicked back in the front. Continuing on we passed the Large Galaxy map in the center of the deck, walking to the door on the right we went down the circling stairs and onto the elevator.

Going down one floor we made it to the crew deck. Across the hall from the elevator there are 5 rooms to the left and 5 rooms to the right. On the same wall as the elevator there are 2 latrines, the females to my left and the male's to my right.

I followed Anderson to the last door on the left "You have the room to yourself so pick any rack" "chow times are 0700, 1300, and 1800" he instructed leaving me to get situated.

I made my way to the rack at the back of the room and set my bags down, I quickly unpacked. I put my armor on after the pilot announced we were aweigh, making my way to the bridge I left my weapons behind except for my two striker pistols, _First rule as an N7 always carry a sidearm or in my case 2._

As I made my way to the bridge from the CIC I saw everyone scurrying around messing with control panels or talking the pilot continued to announce our progress over the intercom "The Arcturus Prime Relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence, We are connected.

Calculating transit mass and destination, the Relay is hot acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transit." I stood behind the pilot while he finished his rather annoying procedure.

"The board is green, approach run has begun. Hitting the relay in 3 2 1" after exiting FTL the pilot spoke into an intercom which I assume leads to the captains quarters. "thrusters check, navigation check, internal emissions sink engaged.

All systems online, Drift just under 1500 K." A new voice replied back, definably not Anderson "1500 is good, your Captain will be pleased" he had a metallic like ring in his voice which indicated it was most likely a turian on the other end.

The pilot spoke to the man next to him "I hate that guy" the co piliot half turned with a smug expression on his face " Nihlus gave you a compliment so you hate him?" the pilot sat forward a bit to reposition himself

countering with "You remember to zip up your jumpsuit when leaving the bathroom. That's Good, I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pin head, so that's incredible, besides Spectres are trouble, I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid, the Council Helped fund this project, they have the right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment". "The Council helped fund this mission?" I asked,

he turned to look at me "Yes, I don't know all the details but it's a joint OP." he replied "Names Kaiden Alenko by the way" he said reaching out a hand shaking it I replied "Shepard" the pilot turned his head to look at me "So you're the one we had to pick up huh? Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau everyone just calls me Joker though"

tipping his cap he turned back to focus on flying and finish the conversation from earlier " and Yeah that is the "Official" story but only an idiot believes the official story" "Agreed, your Captain is holding out on us, I'm sure he'll explain things soon enough though."

He turned to face Alenko with a grin plastered on his face "See Shepard understands" "Yeah Yeah" Kaiden replied focusing on the controls in front of him "Joker Status Report!"

we snapped our heads over to the intercom, the Captains back it seems. Jokers happiness ended fast as he answered "Just cleared the Mass Relay Captain, Stealth Systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good find a comm Buoy and link us up to Admiral Hackett, I want mission reports relayed back to him befor eewe reach Eden Prime" "Aye, Aye Captain, better brace yourself sir I think Nihlus is headed your way"

the Captain let out what seemed to be a frustrated sigh before responding" He's already here Lieutenant. Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm. Room for a debriefing." "Aye, aye, sir."

I turned and made my way to the comm. Room, could hear Joker start to ask if I got the message before he turned back around the last thing I heard from him was "Ahh nevermind then." As I made my way into the comm. Room I saw only a turian whom I assumed was Nihlus,

as he turned to speak to me I took in his appearance he was the same height as me 6'3" he wore grey armor with a red stripe in the middle of the chest and red lights along the top of the collar.

His skin complexion is a dark brown, and like most turians he also had face paint on, it covered most of his face and was a grayish white color. "Commander Shepard, I was hoping you'd get here first, It will give us a chance to talk"

I stood with my feet a shoulder width apart and my hands clasped together in the small of my back, "What about?" I asked in a monotone. He turned and took a step towards the large projection of Eden Prime than took a step back turning towards me

"I'm interested in this world we are going to, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful." I remained silent, trying to give off an _I really don't give a shit_ look, but he continued anyways

"Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people hasn't it? Proof that not only can humanity establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?"

"Is there some sort of point to this?" I asked "Your people are still newcomers Shepard, the Galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?" before I could answer Captain Anderson walked in

"I think it's time we told the Commander what's _really_ going on" Nihlus spoke again in a serious tone of voice "This mission is far more than a shakedown run" I turned my head to look him in the eyes

"Perhaps you could tell me something I don't know" Nihlus had an amused expression on his face as he asked me to tell him what I thought the mission was about "correct me if I'm wrong. We're going to be retrieving some important artifact that may or may not be heavily guarded."

I finished looking to Anderson for confirmation. "How do you figure that?" He asked. I shook my head in disappointment._ Do they really believe it was that big of a secret. _"First off you don't bring a Spectre on board for a simple shakedown run, so if it's not a shakedown run what else could it be?

Well Eden Prime is a mining colony so odds are they dug something up, and since the Council helped fund this mission and sent a Spectre along with you, and the Alliance picked an N7 to tag along, then we must be securing a very important Artifact. Correct?" Anderson put his hand to his chin and looked me over.

"Interesting. . . Yes we're making a covert pick-up that's why we needed the Normandy's stealth systems operational, a research team unearthed some kind of Beacon during an excavation, it was Prothean."

"Anything else you can tell me?" he put his hands out as if to tell me to slow down. "This is big Shepard the last time humanity made a discovery like this it jumped our technology forward two hundred years.

But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities required to handle something like this, so we need to get it to the Citadel for proper study." Nihlus spoke next "Obviously this goes beyond mere human interests, this discovery could affect every species in the Galaxy."

"There's more Shepard. Nihlus isn't just here for the Beacon. He's Also here to evaluate you" "What for?" "The Alliance has been pushing this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in Interstellar Policy.

We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Councils power and authority if they accept a human into their ranks, it will show how far the Alliance has come."

Nihlus stepped forward " Not many could've survived what you did on Akuze or completed the mission on Torfan, You showed a particularly strong will to live, and an even stronger ability to lead. Two particularly useful skills, that's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres.

I thought about it for a minute and agreed. Before I could speak again I was interrupted. "Captain we've got a problem" Joker announced over the intercom, Anderson turned to face the speaker on the wall "What's wrong Joker?

"Transmission from Eden Prime Sir, you'd better see this" "Bring it up on screen" as the footage appeared the three of us turned to see what the hassle was all about. the camera was shaking pretty bad, there were large blasts and a lot of gun fire, Alliance soldiers were dropping left and right.

An explosion went off a few meters away from the person holding the camera when a younger woman in white armor returned fire and rushed over to push him/her down "Stay down" she said as she continued to return fire on their enemies.

The camera was then flipped around so we could see the camera mans face as he shouted above the gunfire " We are taking heavy casualties I Repeat we are taking heavy casualties, We can't- Ugh!" Ducking his head to avoid the rocket flying past him.

The transmission started to cut out a bit "-eed evac! They came out of nowhere Need—" the mans head exploded into a red mist as a large caliber projectile pierced his skull.

The camera fell revealing shocked faces of the soldiers still alive the came to a halt pointing at the sky, I caught a quick glimpse of some sort of ship crackling with red lightening? Before the feed went black.

"Everything cuts out after that, no comm. Traffic at all, just goes dead. There's nothing" Joker explained "Reverse and hold at 38.5" Anderson ordered "Aye, Aye Captain" the feed paused on the ship.

"Joker! Status report" "17 minutes out Captain, no other Alliance ships in the area." "Take us out Joker fast and Quiet" Anderson turned to me. "This mission just got a lot more complicated, grab your gear and meet us in the Cargo bay, tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up.

" I made my way to the bridge to inform Alenko and told him to get Jenkins. I entered the bay and made my way to stand next to Alenko and Jenkins. As Anderson started his briefing.

"You're team is the muscle in this mission Commander, you're to go in heavy and head straight towards the dig site." "what about survivors Captain?" Alenko asked.

"Helping survivors is a secondary objective, securing the Beacon is your top priority" "Approaching Drop point one" Joker announced. Jenkins turned to face Nihlus as he walked in and asked if he was coming with us, the turian stated that he moves faster on his own and jumped out of the docking bay.

"Nihlus will scout out ahead, He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission, other than that I want radio silence" the Captain stated. "Approaching drop point two" Joker announced, "The mission is yours now Commander Good luck." With that we jumped from the docking bay.

**Well that's all for now please comment your thoughts, likes, or dislikes. P.S- Shepard doesn't have a lot of internal conflicts, and I can't really give away his thoughts with out spoiling a major plot insert, so that's why I haven't put much input towards his thoughts.**


End file.
